Expectations high for new accord on Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Director general of political affairs at the Foreign Ministry Nur Hassan Wirajuda expressed high expectation over the success of the new accord to reduce violence signed by representatives of the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) late Friday.

"Over the past week ... the new arrangement has proven -- at least until today and hopefully until the 20th when they meet -- that it has been able to reduce the violence," Hassan said as quoted by Reuters upon leaving Geneva.

"The next step is an all-inclusive political dialog in Aceh itself, in which GAM would be a participant," he added.

Hassan, who led Jakarta's delegation in the meting, also said he expected the deal to be reviewed every three to six months, with the venues for such reviews shifting to the province.

Representatives of the Indonesian government and GAM rebels have agreed to a new accord to reduce violence, a joint statement released late Friday said.

The statement, issued at the end of two days of talks, said a "new security arrangement" had replaced the one-month moratorium that ended on Thursday.

The statement said the new security arrangement would continue indefinitely with periodic reviews.

Hassan said both sides had agreed to hold a "commanders' meeting" in Aceh's capital Banda Aceh on the 20th of this month to discuss and proceed with the new security arrangement.

There was no immediate comment from the GAM delegation, led by Tengku Ilyas Mohamad Abe and Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, or from the GAM leadership based in Stockholm, Sweden.

But the statement said that despite the "continuing and regrettable violence" during the one-month moratorium agreed in January, both sides noted that the number of violent incidents in Aceh had dropped to just 58 from 259 the previous month.

Both sides had been "greatly encouraged" by the first ever meeting of field commanders in Banda Aceh on Feb. 9 and 10, which had resulted in the setting up a "hotline" -- through satellite phones -- to prevent violence.

"The 'hotline' has been used frequently," the statement added.

The face-to-face meetings between commanders are being expanded to all 13 districts and will include both Indonesian police and military as well as the rebels' operations commanders, it said.

Back in Aceh, violence continued to rage in the province despite the "new security arrangement".

In East Aceh, Sgt. Maj. Paijo, a member of the Manyak Payed military subdistrict command was killed after a group of 10 alleged rebels stabbed him to death around 3:30 p.m. on Friday in Seunubok Dalam village, Cinta Meunasah special operation spokesman Sr. Comr. Kusbini Imbar told The Jakarta Post by phone from Banda Aceh.

Early on Saturday at around 12:30 a.m., an explosion took place at the BCA bank's Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) on Jl. Tengku Panglima Polim in Banda Aceh, but no casualties were reported.

Separately, four ambushes took place in North Aceh on Friday. The last was an attack by GAM rebels on a security post in the Bukit Indah Mobil Oil complex at around 10:45 p.m., Kusbini added.

Other attacks by GAM rebels on Friday included one on the Syamtalira Bayu police station, a passing vehicle in Muara Dua district in North Aceh and on a regency hall in the Bireun area, the officer said.

The Cinta Meunasah special operation, meant to restore law and order to the province, will expire on Sunday and will be followed up by its second phase which will involve some 2,000 combined military and police personnel. (edt)